The use of perfluorinated ion-exchange membranes is rapidly expanding as the preferred energy-efficient technology for the electrolysis of brine to produce caustic and chlorine. Typical electrolytic cells used for this purpose comprise an anode and a cathode, an anode compartment and a cathode compartment, and the perfluorinated ion-exchange membrane situated so as to separate the two compartments. Brine is fed into the anode compartment, and a current is caused to flow through the cell.
It has been found that certain impurities in the brine feed can adversely affect the electrolysis process by reducing the performance and useful life of the ion-exchange membrane. One such common impurity in brine is sodium sulfate. In the cell, sulfate can move through the membrane and precipitate as sodium sulfate in the membrane layer adjacent to the catholyte. To avoid membrane damage caused by sulfate, prior practice has been to limit the concentration of sodium sulfate in the brine feed to a fixed level. For example, J56/33488, assigned to Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., and published Apr. 3, 1981, discloses that it is necessary to keep the concentration of sodium sulfate in the brine below 10 g liter, preferably below 5 g/liter, and ideally below 3 g/liter. This practice is not entirely satisfactory, however, because it does not prevent membrane damage in all circumstances and it often causes the cell operator to go to added expense to remove excess sulfate from the brine.